This invention relates to grass cutting attachments for tractors.
One common form of grass cutting attachment provides one cutting unit in front of each tractor rear wheel, with the remaining one or more cutting units carried behind the tractor on the three point linkage. Such an arrangement has the advantage over the alternative of mounting all units behind the tractor, that grass is cut before being flattened by the tractor rear wheels. The two cutting units which are positioned between the front and rear tractor wheels are usually carried on lift arms which are in turn supported from beneath the tractor chassis.
There is now a demand for grass cutting attachments suitable for mounting on so-called compact tractors. With these smaller tractors, there is less room available beneath the tractor chassis for support structures and less ground clearance for lift arms. It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved grass cutting attachment which is better suited for mounting on smaller tractors.
With three unit grass cutting attachments for compact tractors, it is particularly important that the wing cutting units should bold to a transport position of reduced overall width. A cutting unit which projects a substantial lateral distance in a transport position is often a more acute problem with compact tractors because of the relatively greater size of the cutting unit as compared with the tractor. With some presently available grass cutting attachments, the cutting units can be moved to an upright transport position but still project a significant distance laterally. Moreover, in the transport position they severely restrict access to the tractor driving position.
It is an object of certain aspects of this invention to produce an improved grass cutting attachment in which these difficulties are removed or reduced.